Memories of life

Think I am DeaD? Think again.

2007-02-06T13:18:00.000+08:00

Time files isn't it?, in the blink of an eye, i had reach my final years of studies in NYP. In fact, most of the things i had learned are just basics. This turning point in my life, many lives. NUS or NTU? Local or overseas? Many people are asking, consulting, persuading... Recently, i heard from one of my old friend in SP (Singapore polytechnic); he said that SP is an excellent tertiary education(Right!) with much of Singapore's traits in common. Not surprisingly since they bear the same name. Why is it that? First, Clubs and societies in there needs to pay rental fee...HDB anyone? Second, every member needs to pay club funds (CPF), the scruity of attendance, the booking/rental fee of the auditorium for perfomances/concerts. They even have a quota to reach for selling tickets!

Seriously...its ridiculous, the exact same club in NYP does not need to pay whatever rental fee, funds, quotas. That makes it less stressful? Well at least the tactics employed by SP works to keep serious students in the club. Sadly, my club does not have regular attendance nor lasting students. This makes my position in my club alot more stressful! As a welfare, i am suppose to keep track of their attendance, persuade them to come(hopefully). Why am i saying this? Fear of the exact same situation in university.

NUS feels like SP, this is subjective. NTU feels like NYP with a disadvantage. Same OLD(Pun intended)conductor. If you don't know, the conductor is our famous Mr lok. Famous for being stubborn and impatient, again this is subjective. It was a long struggle to decide between these two Uni, and that's if i even manage to get in. My FYP(Final year project) is in a big mess now. The catch is i have to get a LEAST an A to maintain my grades, and hopefully be eligible for Uni. The weightage is so heavy, it is equivalent to 5 Maths Modules.

Finally.. an update!

2006-06-08T00:27:00.000+08:00

It must have been at least a year since my last update! Some updates on school: for the outdated, i specialise in Interactive and Design. Which means something to do with modelling and animation. Quite a hit nowadays huh? I also got my driving license not too long ago with pretty decent semestral results. Now into my 3rd year, things are running real fast! Many of the modules are getting you to think out of the box!(I hate that)...

Failed my physical fitness test, sighed...could be a sign that i am lacking in my workouts! Holidays are nearing so i managed to squeeze a tiny bit of time typing this. Hope to find more time typing. My chat board is down, i am lazy and always am. Just post comments instead.

Anyway i stumble across some good website that can really make some cash ! U can try it out yourself for free first => http://doom288.MyBigSuccess.com

Mid Term - School Break approaching

2005-07-18T23:28:00.000+08:00

Just had clare yeo concert yesterday! It was nice to see her perform, especially since we are the accompanying orchestra. It was definately a rare opportunity...who gets to perform in esplanade all the time? At first the backstage is quite confusing, but after some exploring, the layout is quite standard - like a hospital. The concert halls was full house i would say. This concert definately attracted alot of people, but the thing is even the programme booklet need to play money($5 each) coz it is a charity concert.

Had to rush my miniproject phrase 1 at night after the concert coz we have to hand up tmr morning b4 9am. But term break is approaching soon...and i still dun understand some of the concepts. I feel very sad about the Java test...Dont know how the teacher set the paper. So suay kanna the hardest paper(something JCombobox), btw everyone is having a different paper coz it is to prevent copying. Should have ask the teacher for permission to go toliet as she will change the paper to prevent cheating(anyway the rest of the other paper are easy), but didnt...how foolish.

I am going take my music theory exam on 29 Oct this year...so good luck to myself! Quite easy actually, just have to get used to the sharps and flats. Been posting less often due to more stress in school.

A tough semster to go..

2005-06-25T01:29:00.000+08:00

Hey, long time no blog...very busy with school work. Basically i am trying out some eye improvement exercise that claims to improve ur eyesight and lower ur myopia index and there are testimonals to prove it. Look forward to removing my glasses, however it would take very long, well thats not the case, the case is my braces is gonna take very long too! Didnt manage to see much imrpovement in my teeth, but i got comments that the top front teeths are moving in.

Now, i am face with a difficult situation...either to study very hard or to slack and just pass. Since i got 3 distinction per semester, this semester should be no exceptions! But the module are way too hard for me to even get a A or B!!! Maths like just doubled or tripled in difficulty and solving the questions. Alot of formula to memorise without any guide, espically with that inconsiderate teacher!! Semseter project is based on java programming which is object orianted that is so confusing with all the terms and must be able to memorise different kind of methods. Electronic communciation is full of log and sin,cos,tan!! Can u imagine calulating a gain in decibel will require u to do some funny complex calculatiojn?? Even just calculating a sine wave need something like VpSin2PIn(10000t)+VpSinePI2n(20000t) and so on!!! What's more, electronic ciruit has BJT and FET that complicates circuit more! I am guaranteed to fail !!! Someone Enlighten me....

Went to SP String Concert today, at least their standard is better than NP strings. Nevertheless, they have the biggest ensemble compared to other poly and with a rather consistance standard distributed among their members, not like ours, we have a few good players and then the rest are beginners; they have no truely superb players but the have many average players that makes them better in some way. I will be off to study my school work....too much stress...must focus.

Nothing Much

2005-06-05T20:01:00.000+08:00

Watched Unleased on thursday...first time an action movie has a proper storyline, but it looks weird when jet li suddenly became back to human when he was a dog previously. I like the man in white robe the most! coz he is botak and probably blacked out when he used his head to hit the toilet wall..Ouch!

Did a recording on saturday called melodies of life. Some parts are nice while others are chaos but overall it is acceptable coz 1. First time recording 2. We are no professional 3. Some of us are sight reading 4. We slack and never practice 5. Smoke 6. Mic not powerful... blablabla , so it justified the errors and whatever. Suppose to have another session next sat. Stay tune.

BHSO started rehearsals again! This time we are playing 2 pieces somewhere in July at esplanade, featuring a prodigy although the piece is quite short. Orchestra pieces are really hard. Bowings hard to follow, timing are strict and full of rests that threaten to throw you off guard and funny timing that is hard to follow.

Messy

2005-06-01T01:17:00.000+08:00

Today, two person came to my house to install 3 air-con and it made a mess out of my house!!! He said my house was too complicated to do the piping and all that but we went ahead coz it was not refunable...WHoa the whole process took like 8 hrs and my whole house was full of dust and some furniture require moving. The person that installed the unit was abit like an ah beng. Smokes and act cool even when he was working. Anyway he did the whole thing pretty fast... faster than i imagine.

Tomorrow school starts at 8am...haiz wonder y i am still bloggin here. I threw away lots of old stuff.....relax and relieve my mind for a while. My teeth is still aching! But possible to chew abit, so getting better!

Dental Esp.2

2005-05-27T17:04:00.000+08:00

Ok, went to dental yesterday for tooth fillings, and now today for band & bond. Just got braces, it feels like my teeth are coming out...but i dun feel any pain, for now...The dentist teach me how to brush my teeth in a whole new way and it is more troublesome!! Gonna carry that metal thing around for 2 yrs...Feels quite heavy but will get used to it. Now i shouldnt eat out coz i have to brush my teeth after every meal as food particles get stuck in it.

School is about to start and i havent get my textbook yet. The stupid KUANKO is teaching us again for maths. That joker better teach for decently this sem or else i sure put VERY BAD for the feedback form. My timetable now is so packed! They squeezed everything into 4 days and give me a free tuesday(which i dont mind..hehehe).

Beethoven Night

2005-05-24T01:25:00.000+08:00

Just finish a concert tonight...Not too bad but managed alot of wrong notes and wrong bowings...No choice but to smoke thru. Hope they dun see me(hehe), anyway we played Fidelio Overture, Piano concerto no.3 and Symphony no.7. I think it is not bad for my first performace with braddell heights symphony orchestra! I especially like the last movt of the symphony no.7! Although my teacher thinks it is an amateur orchestra, i think it is about semi-pro standard coz there are alot of ppl that really can play well in there! I think i am one of the lousist(is there such word?) in there. Really looking forward to play there again!!

Well, hows my teeth doing? I say it hurts quite badly coz i cant chew!!! The rubber band inside(spacers) is pushing my teeth apart and it must have done its job pretty well. Looks like more soft diet for a few more days. I wonder how will i look after i have my braces...

Dental Esp.1

2005-05-19T15:50:00.000+08:00

This Morning, i woke up feeling anxious about my teeth. It is an appointment with the dental surgeon! I know that i am gonna have 4 teeth pulled out(who is not scared of pulling their teeth out raise their hands!!!!), anyway the anticipation of extracting is worst that the procedure itself. I can remember that part where i choked several times on the numbing needle b4 i managed to start breathing from my nose. I feel that the numbing needle itself i more painful than the extraction, coz they used like 8 injections, causing whole mouth to feel sore and numb. 3 came out smoothly, where the last one feels slightly more painful coz of the curve root, but i must say it is not as pain as one expect it to be. They also put the spacer band in between my molars which feels quite awful now as i am writing this blog(Aww..) even though i took the painful already.

Pray hard not to develop dry socket, shaojun is returning from europe to singapore today. He bought a 4k italian violin, so i am gonna test it out!!Hahaha, see mine or his is better. Wonder how long this pain will last, feel tired now...

Band/Orchestra Audition Tips

2005-05-16T15:53:00.000+08:00

1.The auditioners are probably a little too stuck on themselves to start with. It's best to put them in their place as soon as you walk into the room. Tell them that their clothes don't match or something. Do this with a disdainful look on your face. Intimidation is an important ally.

2.The auditioner has probably heard the required piece a couple dozen times by the time you walk in. You'd better do something to stand out. Tweak out the tempo...way too fast or too slow. Play the dynamics the opposite of what they are marked. Remember, the trick is to get them to remember you.

3.It's always a good idea to suck up a little. Get inside the auditioner's head. Find out what it is they want to hear, then give it to them. Every time they point at a marking and ask what it means, look at them intensely and ask, "What do YOU think it means?"

4.Never...NEVER admit defeat. If they criticize the way you play something, just snort and reply that your playing is a result of YOUR interpretation, and that they should not try to trample your creative flow. They will respect this.

5.Auditioners want to know that you can work under pressure. Make it seem like you came in after having the worst experience of your life. Wear torn, dirty clothing, hair messed. Wear an old, cracked pair of glasses if you have them. A couple of fake wounds will make it look like you just survived a street rumble. Any person who can audition after THAT deserves a spot in the orchestra.

6.Let them know your credentials. Make them up if you have to. Constantly mention who you teacher is, and how much more knowledgeable they are than the auditioner. This coincides with the intimidation element mentioned earlier.

7.Convince the auditioner of your vast knowledge and expertise with the standard repertoire. You may want to ignore the audition piece altogether and walk in with a completely different work, claiming that the audition excerpt was an inferior selection, and an insult to your abilities. Quickly follow this up with, "Oh...I'm sorry, did YOU pick this?"

8.String players should file their highest string down so that it will most likely break during the audition, forcing you to finish the event on the remaining three. This is a grand spectacle. It worked for Paganini.

9.In some cultures, the sharing of bodily fluids is a high complement and a gesture of respect. Brass players should empty their spit valves in the direction of, if not directly on, the auditioner, just to be safe.

10.Reed players should show the proper emphasis on reed selection and care. Buy 2 to 3 boxes of reeds, and prepare each one. Don't let the audition start until you've tried each one and found the most responsive. Another good way to show your sensitivity to reed condition is to change reeds every two minutes or so, claiming that each one has "lost its will to play," or "hmmm...the humidity in here must have dropped." Check them against the light; balance them on your finger. You can't be too picky.

11.Percussionists: show them you're a real man (even if you're female). Play everything with traditional grip on thick marching sticks...even the timpani, mallets and chimes.

12.Many auditions have gone south due to under-rested performers. Understandably, many people have trouble sleeping the night before a big audition. If this happens, a few cups of espresso should keep you wide-eyed and alert.

13.If you over-do suggestion #12, a good dose of muscle relaxants should even things out.

Jamming

2005-05-14T22:27:00.000+08:00

Ahh...melodies of life, who will deny this piece of great work by nobuo uematsu? I went 2 days straight just to arrange this piece for violin, piano, guitar and clarinet. Well, the end result was not too bad but since like some parts are overkill coz it is quite hard to play. Violin has to reach insane position, some tremolo while piano has to play many many chords, so on...but we managed to play this piece nevertheless. Not too bad and not too good i would say(standard comment...). Wonder when i will be able to play together again; my violin fingerboard has some cracks(arggg!!) and might need some operation.

Nevermind, i will be going to attend BHSO(Braddell heights symphony orchestra) rehearsals and see how they fare, since i heard that they are an amateur orchestra. Tang quartet concert is also coming up, so is the braces thingy. It is going to be a busy sunday.

This scared the hell out of me

2005-05-06T22:03:00.000+08:00

Yesterday went to dental clinic with my mum, coz she want me to put braces as my front tooth is protruded. And then the next moment, i was shocked coz the dentist said i have to PULL 4 teeth out from the side, 1 from each side coz it is too overcrowded...I was thinking why should i sacrifice 4 teeth for a better look? Is it worth it? Well after that i got a photo shot then a mould of my teeth, and then asked to take an X-ray at cairnhill for next appointment. Why braces are so extreme that they have to remove 4 healthy teeth!!??

Today, after my violin lesson, i went home to get my papers for the x-ray and head now to somerset. I reached there pretty late(4.30pm) as they close at 5pm, but it was all done in a few minutes. Then i do nothing much for the rest of the day, like visiting HMV and meeting some of my friends for dinner, and Tony has just returned from overseas, so might as well chat a while.

Am i Crazy?

2005-05-04T00:00:00.000+08:00

Guess wad, i change the layout of my room, and add my bed in it. It wasnt there b4 but now i was inspired by some design when i was asleep on the train on my way home. Well my room now looks alot smaller but i get to sleep in my own room. I was YL's blog and he said he was selected for next phrase of training in WSS. I guess i am not in then, coz i havent receive any sms about Wss training...Phew no more committment to WSS anymore! But tomorrow is the release of results for my current semester...Feel quite worried about it...haiz.

I went to PS with with sam to buy keyboard in MP. Wanted to keep one in my room so can have accompaniment as well as learn some cadence and chords from the piano in preparation for my theory. My mum have been urging me to take braces coz my front teeth is protruded, Anyway braces only last 2 yrs while my teeth last for a lifetime so might as well. I am just worried about the cost, been spending alot lately.

2005-04-27T23:41:00.000+08:00

What can i say? My cca starts already and i am the welfare officer...have to do some adminiative work on some concert and trying to contact as much ppl as possible. Nothing much to do except to play Dynasty warrior 5 on PS2. I like the story actually, coz i get to play from different perspective, and i feel that all of them are neither for peace nor justice coz all are very Greedy!!!(MY PERSEPECTIVE). It just feels great to slaughter all of them in the game. Trying to unlock Lu bu though, the ultra lawnmower.

Been sleeping late lately, at times of around 4am. Trying to slp earlier! But nothing to do also... most of my friends have jobs, and i am trying to find a music grade 5 theory teacher, coz i want to take grade 7 practical!!!!! But stupid christofori say only can start from grade 1...I got a feeling that they just want your $$$.

Busy playing late at night?

2005-04-22T01:51:00.000+08:00

Whoa, i havent blog for quite some time now... Stayed up late till 4am and wake up late in the morning...Damned, i have WSS(World Skills Singapore) selection test tomorrow! I am planning to quit WSS coz it is eating up much of my time...especially when i have to wake up at 7.30am just to get to NYP S441. Probably i will be kicked out naturally since i find many real pros at the WSS. Whatever it is, i am not going to continue.

I am currently trying to play bach sonatas and partitas now. I find them challenging as well as fun! Bach writes nice solo pieces. Yeah, if i could even play it. Some of my friends are flying to australia, europe. Whoa, nice place to stretch out and enjoy! Well, now i spend most of my time playing, but i am running out of games soon..Worrying.. Wonder what next sem will be like.

But there is an alternative! I am going back to the traditional way of gaming. To the arcardes!! Much fun could be found but at the expense of money! WHich i am running out soon...The NEXT some of my friends are working. Dunnoe if i should work...Maybe. Signing off

Play! Play! and more Play!

2005-04-14T23:36:00.000+08:00

As my friends are staying over yesterday night, i slp pretty late yesterday, which i end up waking late. Due to this, i had to postpone my violin lesson to tomorrow. But nevermind, I got plenty of time to PLAY! I and i mean really play. Since we are waiting for our last friend, nicholas to arrive, i , samuel and tony went to game Joint ops for like 4-5 hrs straight. I feel like my eyesight is getter worse, not to mention that i tried to reduce my degree.

But today i had nothing more to write, except gaming coz the whole day was just game, game, game and more game... Unless you want the details of the games. After that , time really flies and we end up eating macdonald for dinner at 11pm. The funny thing was there was a roach running about on the road, and as we are sitting my the road side, eating our meals, the roach approach us...hahah...damn scary, but sam managed to chase it away and it kept returning. Damn persistant! But as time draws closer, we had to depart and went home later.

Last Paper!

2005-04-12T00:29:00.000+08:00

Yeah, today was my last paper! The problem is that each question carried very high marks, while the questions are quite simple to answer. I turn i end up writing 1 -3 sentence answer which cost at least 12 marks each!!! I dont know if i am correct or not since most of the ppl answer the same way as me. Well, after today i can go any where and play anything i want since i am free now.

Went to NP strings concert yesterday and saw their string ensemble. I think they have quite alot of members although most of them must be beginner. There was a particular guy that managed to play Bach partita No.2 Chaconne , which i think was the best performance of that day. I overheard that he has a diploma in violin. Anyway, their se was pretty much on par with my schools se. More of their students are better, and most of their students are worst. Could be good or bad, i dunnoe. I recorded the whole concert with a MD player, quality is so-so, dun expect studio recording.LOL!

They have guest performers from SP. Maybe we can do the same thing by performing during SP or NP concert as guest performers. Ming Kai thinks we should discuss with Hans, while i can ask Han about a Tang Quartet Concert.

I have nothing much to post now...go and slp.

Professionalism

2005-04-10T00:02:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, i went for Tang quartet Rectial...they are superb! Coordination was flawless and they all played very professionally. I will never reach their standard even though i will like too. Some of the pieces are way too modern for me, but at least they throw some classical pieces like smetana piano trio(one of my fav) and beethovan. Well at least nicholas did not fell asleep as strings and piano are his most hatred instrument...Wonder why he does not like strings?

Anyway, i went to eat hagen das ice cream later as shaojun treat me. The ice cream contains many other ingrediations like caramel and brownies. Taste damn sweet, but i like it.

Today, i had to take a cab to my violin lesson coz it damn far away(for me) and i am a lazy person. I lied on the bed for another 30 mins b4 i decide to wake up as my bed is too comfortable! Tony called me later and wanted to do a recording of some anime music. Quite nice and very emotional. But i had to skip my choir which is quite important coz they have the choir interact on this day which i chose to skip!!

My last paper is on Mon, which is data commication. Kaoz it is another paper like internet application that requries some memory work(I hate the most!). I will try to blog when i am free nxt time.

Discreet Math? I am trying to be Obvious here!

2005-04-08T00:38:00.000+08:00

Ahh...Todays exam paper was harder than expected. Whats more interesting is that i managed to do the harder questions easily and spent an hour reading the easy questions that got to do with logic thoery. Went to funland and zone X after that. Was trying to perfect daytona 2 since i mastered daytona 1.

Nothing much to say anway...I went to gramercy to buy some accessories for my violin and a set of new strings. They are damn expensive! Cost like $60+ for a set and it last like only a month or two. Tang quartet is performacing tomorrow. So far i never really heard them play b4. Exams are finally about to be over! Left 1 more paper which i already got C or D b4 the exam start. Take that paper is to get A..LOL!

Will Blog tomorrow...

C Programming

2005-04-06T23:00:00.000+08:00

Woke up at 7am due to an exam. I managed to play with the compiler for a while b4 heading out to school. When i reached G221 sports complex, i could not find the correct entrance as i didnt know which hall am i suppose to enter. Haha..with only a few minutes to spare, i read though the pieces of paper pasted on the door, looking desperately for my name.

The sports hall was rather quiet. The atmosphere of the hall was heavy, however as C programming was one of my stronger module, i was feeling not much pressure. After the paper, Poh Yi and Eng koon decided to eat lunch at FJ ,SO was i. There was a girl sitting beside and across Poh Yi. She was quietly doing her HW and was alone. Poh Yi was trying to get her attention. Anyway since he is older than me, i let him take the bait(just kidding). I dont even know whether she has a BF or not.

Eng koon seemed very upset about his C programming and tmr's maths. It seems as though his age had caught up on him. When i reached home, i finished d/led a video of the four seasons. The person that could play the solo part was inhuman! That would take me infinite years to train that kind of standard while she played as though it was just a standard repetoir. Truly, vivaldi managed to get the atomsphere of the seasons right. Every piece was unique and mimic the enviroment well.

I spend the bottom half of the day slacking at home(Again). This time i got a new game called Republic commandos. Quite like a Halo clone...Simple and straight forward. I better get prepared for tomorrows exam and i have not attend my violin lesson for 2 wks(Hope i dun lose my touch). Anyway, i will be going for tang quartet rectial on friday and NP's String concert on Sunday. Somebody told me that Np sux, but i just wanted to check out how good they are.(Nicer to say)

I have done enough blogging today, gonna prepare for Discreet Maths!

Home alone

2005-04-05T23:29:00.001+08:00

I woke up at 10.10am today waiting for Shaojun to come and collect his Grade8 Exam piece as he left it here not long ago(How careless...). Anyway I was working on the links of the blog just as him came. We played PS2 together using guncon and Does anyone play Vampire Nights? The body language of the characters were very funny as it is over aggregated! Looks like a cheapskate game made within 2 hrs!

Well later, he helped himself to some games that he wanted to play at home even KOTOR(Knights of the old republic):Sith lords. I was desperately trying to get to the dark side as i had already completed the storyline of the light side. It was hilarious to see how the computer generated characters responds to your marked insults and EvILness! Shaojun helped me found some better bittorrent software that allows me to d/l faster than i upload. The default torrent just capped my d/ling speed!!! Anway, it managed to reduce my d/ling time from 7days to 4hrs.

Tomorrow is C programming Exam, so i decided to stay at home the whole day d/ling some video and it is kind of weird that Jonathan did not call me for a private tution as he always did b4 a major exam. The exam starts at 8.30am so i think it is time for me to sign off.

New Blog

2005-04-05T00:57:00.000+08:00

What's up, i just created this blog space. Time really flies...Miss good old friends and met them on MSN messenager today.